Overview
- The 30th Sindhu Darshan Yatra and the inaugural Pratham Sindhu Kumbh began at Sindhu Ghat in Leh Tuesday and will run through June 27 as a five-day festival.
- The opening featured a grand Kalash Yatra in which waters collected from rivers across India were ceremonially offered into the Sindhu River to symbolise cultural unity.
- Union Minister of State Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya, Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta were among the dignitaries who attended the inaugural ceremony.
- Saxena told the gathering the event is meant to promote eco-spiritual tourism and local economic growth while urging strict compliance with rules such as the ban on single-use plastics to protect the Himalayan environment.
- Started in 1997 as an annual pilgrimage, the Sindhu Darshan Yatra has grown into a national cultural platform and organisers expect thousands of devotees, scholars and tourists to take part over the five days.